I would like to help, but...

Have you ever thought that you would like to help children in needy regions of the world but weren't certain just how to go about doing so? When you contribute to most organizations, the organization keeps a certain percentage of your contribution for keeping their office running.

Of course charitable organizations must pay their expenses in some way. Worldwide Christian Schools does so with an endowment. That allows us to say for certainty that:
At Worldwide Christian Schools, 100% of all project-designated donations go to that project.

To see the kinds of projects go to: http://www.wwcs.org

When the best medicine is water!

One of my favorite magazines is Ode, an international magazine that tells about progress, ongoing opportunities and the creativity of humankind. In the October, 2006 issue is an interesting article written by Tijn Touber about the work of Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, author of Your Bodies Many Cries for Water.

In 1979 Batmanghelidj was imprisoned in Tehran by the ayatollahs. One night he was trying to help a fellow prisoner find relief from the suffering caused by server stomach ulcers. Since no medicine was available, Batmanghelidj gave the man two glasses of water. Within 10 minutes the man’s ulcer pain was greatly relieved.

After his release from prison, Batmanghelidj immigrated to the United States and began to research and write articles and books based on his belief that water plays a huge role in our bodies’ health. He explains that water regulates all body functions. If the body becomes dehydrated it begins a water-rationing process. The brain is first in line to receive the water that is available, followed by the kidneys and liver.

Peter Ragnar, the American author of 17 books on health and longevity, writes that he not only supports the concept of “medicine water” but also believes that Alzheimer’s disease could be the result of long-term dehydration of the brain. According to Ragnar, at least eighty percent of the brain is water and reducing the amount of water available to our brains by just two percent makes our short-term memory so muddled that we can’t remember the names of friends or where we left our keys.

Having read all of that information I can assure you that I am taking the message to heart...and thanking God with gratitude for our easy access to water. I know that it takes enormous amounts of water to produce food, even in rich agricultural areas. In many parts of the world water is either physically scarce or economically scarce. The New York Times reports that arid cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix already grapple with sporadic water shortages. New York City's water is getting cloudy, and the American Society of Civil Engineers has given the pipes and other parts of the country's creaky water system a D minus. Hundreds of millions of Asians and Africans lack access to safe drinking water. Many of them become ill or die each year from water-related health risks.

The World Hunger Year reports that scaracity of water is especially hard on women and girls. “Because of traditional gender roles, in many places in rural Africa and Asia, the task of gathering water for the family is considered women's work. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), women and female children spend more than 10 million "person-years" carrying water from remote sources each year. With growing water scarcity, women and girls must travel longer distances to obtain water, a chore that often occupies several hours of the day. In some cases, women must leave at dawn traveling miles to the nearest well--returning under the weight of full water containers--in order to bring water home by as late as midnight. In other cases, a woman might have to spend an entire night waiting at distant water pumps among scores of other women for a turn to fill a water container.

Many implications stem from these long distances that women and girls must travel in order to gather water. Busy with this task, women are prevented from participating in more socially valued, income-generating areas of the local economy, such as selling products or gardening. Because women's contributions are considered to be informal--or in other words relating more to the home than to export agriculture or commerce--their labors often go unrecognized.

What's more, the cycle of excluding women from income-generating activities continues as school-age girls spend hours each day carrying water for their families instead of pursuing an education. According to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, of the 120 million school-age children not in school, the majority are girls. 'This lack of education early in life often consigns girls to poverty or dependence later in life,' said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy."

Water is fundamental for life and health. The human right to water is indispensable for leading a healthy life in human dignity. It is a pre-requisite to the realization of all other human rights.

-The United Nations Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights, Environment News Service.

My Own Bible: Putting a Bible into the hands of every WCS child

Written by Emily Klooster

Do you remember your first Bible? Maybe it was a gift from your parents, or if you attended a Christian school you were probably given a Bible to use in class. Since access to Scripture was easy for most of us, it may surprise you that in many countries around the world Christian schools have a difficult time acquiring even one Bible. A student in a developing country may have gone through school hearing about God’s love, but he will graduate without ever opening God’s Word.

“The essence of Christian education is the Word of God,” said WCS field director for Africa Dale Dieleman. “The reality is that 90% of [WCS partner schools] in Africa may not have a Bible. How do we address Christian education with a lack of Bibles?”

In response to this significant need, Worldwide Christian Schools is pleased to announce the My Own Bible Fund, a three-way collaboration between WCS, The Bible League, and our international family of partners in Christian education. The goal of this fund is to provide every child in a WCS partner school with a Bible, beginning in Africa. “This is an ongoing program because we are constantly adding partners and there are always new children coming into these schools,” said Dieleman. “It’s open-ended, and we want donors to see the value in that.”

The benefits of the My Own Bible Fund will extend beyond simply handing out Bibles. Before the Bibles are distributed, partner schools will participate in Bible Study courses to introduce the Word to students. These courses will be conducted by WCS partner, The Bible League. After the courses are completed, WCS will make the funds available so that partner schools can buy the Bibles they need in the languages they prefer, such as French or Swahili. After graduating, each student will be able to keep his or her Bible. “In this way we can impact homes without a Bible. It becomes something of their own.”

The cost of a Bible for one student is $5, which puts the annual goal of the My Own Bible Fund at $125,000. If this much can be raised annually, approximately 25,000 students without Bibles will receive them each year. Through this campaign, you could have an incredible impact on students around the world. An individual donor can choose to purchase one Bible for a student, or increase his or her impact by purchasing Bibles for an entire school. The My Own Bible Fund could also be used as an end-of-the-year giving program for Sunday schools, youth groups, and Christian school classrooms.

Please prayerfully consider joining WCS and Bible League in the campaign to put a Bible into the hands of every WCS child. There is no better gift you can give than access to God’s Word and the good news of His great love!

To donate to the My Own Bible project contact Dale Dieleman at (800) 886-9000 or ddieleman@wwcs.org.

The Children of Orissa, India

(Written by Scott VanderKooy, president of Worldwide Christian Schools.)

From a North American perspective, the town of Kesinga, in the Indian state of Orissa, is in the middle of nowhere. The easiest way to get there from outside is to fly to Calcutta and then take a train 15 hours southwest. Officially, English is the “functional” language of India, but few Indians outside the major cities speak it. There are over 200 languages in use within India, so even Indian-to-Indian communication is often difficult. India’s recent economic growth has not affected Kesinga.

Typical life in this small town involves waking up with your family in a 12-foot by 8-foot brick- walled structure with a tin roof. Without electricity or plumbing, 90% of the town’s residents use a field as their toilet. Those who have electricity can’t rely on it.

Most people in Kesinga spend their morning scratching out a living growing rice or scavenging for food. The average temperature in April is 105 degrees Fahrenheit, so the midday and afternoon is spent in the shade, if possible. As is common in India, one community pond serves as the drinking fountain, bathtub, pool, and livestock watering hole. This practice spreads disease. Education is the only way unhealthy habits can be broken and lives improved.

Six days a week at 6:30 a.m., a single line of 50 green-uniformed children, a ribbon of green, makes its way 2.5 miles to school through Kesinga. Passing street vendors, a Hindu temple, and even the local Hindu school, the children never waver until they reach a rented building they meet up with 38 other children from the town. After attendance and a check for lice, the children sit cross-legged on the floor in one of three classrooms, or in the entryway, which is currently functioning as a fourth classroom.

WCS field partners Siani and Suphala Harpal founded new Life Christian School one year ago, in May of 2005. This husband and wife team wanted something better than Hindu training for the children who lived in the orphanage they ran together. In less than one year, 38 new community children from Hindu families have also joined the orphans. This fact makes it clear that many in this Hindu town recognize that New Life offers a better academic option for their children.

WCS first met Siani and Suphala at the WCS Teacher and Leadership Training Conference in Bangalore in 2004. Although they didn’t have a school in Kesinga yet, it was clear that they were located in an area were Christ-centered schools did not exist.

Places like Kesinga are exactly where WCS is called to be. After a thorough partner evaluation process, WCS decided to fund New Life in May of 2005. I went in April of 2006 to assess the new school on behalf ofthe WCS Asia Team. WCS doesn’t own or operate schools outside the US, therefore we must be able to depend upon indigenous partners, like Siani and Suphala, to operate the school according to the highest spiritual, academic, and accountability standards.

When WCS assesses a school, it looks at the students, teachers, principle, and field partners. WCS field partners are often pioneers. This is especially true when located in an area unfriendly to Christians. Orissa is one of the most militantly Hindu states in India. Although not usually reported, on average at least one Christian a month is killed in Orissa because of their faith in Christ.

Hindus represent 99% of the population; therefore WCS partners must be able to effectively convince even that skeptical community of the value the school brings. During my last trip to India in the month of April, I witnessed this situation firsthand. Siani, Suphala and I were walking one night when a group of Hindu leaders surrounded us on the path. In the Hindi language they demanded to know why the children had to walk to school and back each day. “Why is there no bus?” they asked. It was obvious to me that their real concern had more to do with religion than the safety of the orphan children. But Siani calmly and confidently explained to them that the school hopes to buy a bus someday, but for now it is good education for the children to see commerce in the wonderful town of Kesinga each day. With just a few statements, Siani found a way to unite two opposing sides around a common circumstance. This is the type of diplomacy that WCS field partners must have.

Field partners must sacrifice for the cause of Christ on a daily basis. New Life’s principal lives in a small room at the school. The three teachers live at the orphanage along with Siani and Suphala, and 52 children. They are paid approximately $25 per month over and above room and board. All are certified teachers and are working toward college degrees, or have already secured degrees and are working toward advanced degrees. The character of field partners and teachers says a lot about New Life, but the most important test of a school is its students.

The way children sing when they think no one is listening says something about their spirit. The kids of New Life joyfully meet at 5:00 every morning to sing together, often without the encouragement of adults.

A second indicator is what these children tell you when you talk with them one- on-one. I had a conversation in English with David, who is in grade six. “I want to be an Engineer,” he told me, “and I know it is possible because God loves me.”

Student performance at New Life is tracked closely and is used by the staff to shape teacher training. New Life Christian School passes the WCS test for field partnership. This school has a contagious Christ-like spirit and a strong commitment to quality education that runs through the entire organization.

New Life is not content with the status quo and actively participates in and plans for the annual WCS Teacher Continuing Education (TCE) Conference along with WCS staff-members Gloria Stronks and Jennifer Hartman. The school is a charter member of the new WCS India Association, a group of schools and leaders who are working together with WCS to create a new standard of Christian schools with- in India. New Life Christian School is a ribbon of green in a spiritually and educationally dry community.

Because of this school, a new generation is learning about the one true God and the opportunities and responsibilities in His world. WCS gives New Life $700 per month. This sum pays for four staff members, rented space, and makes it possible for over 80 children of Hindu background to go to a Christian school. As they say, if you can find a better deal for your
contribution dollar, take it!

In faith, WCS has committed to fund New Life for an additional year. There are TWO ways in which you can help New Life School through WCS. First, you can donate toward a new building for New Life that will house both the orphanage and school. New Life currently rents both facilities, and a building of their own will eliminate the 2.5 mile walk to school each morning on busy roads. Second, New Life Christian School has recently become a part of the WCS School Sponsorship program.

Please pray for direction as WCS works with donors to create long-term funding for this pioneering school. For more information on this project, contact Jennifer Hartman at jhartman@wwcs.org or (800) 886-9000. To donate online to this project, visit wwcs.org and click onThe Calling.

Two ways you can help New Life children: 1) Donate toward a new building for the school and orphanage. New Life rents two buildings 2.5 miles apart for their school and orphanage. The children must walk the distance to and from the orphanage and school each day on a busy road, where trucks rush by at 45 miles per hour. The general rule in India is that whoever is bigger has the right of way, so it is up to the children to pay attention and keep to the margins of the roadway. A new building and orphanage on the same site would eliminate the need for this walk, as well as any trouble from Hindu landlords.

2) Become a School Sponsor. There are two ways you can become a school sponsor and help New Life School impact the lives of children in India for Christ. $21 a month (or $252 a year) pays for oneschool sponsorship. Go online to wwcs.org and click on Contribute. Select Sponsor a School, then choose Asia as your area of interest. Choose New Life Orphan School in India and click on the Become a School Sponsor link. Fill out the required information online and enjoy your new status as this school’s sponsor.Or... Contact Jennifer Hartman at Worldwide ChristianSchools by phone at (800) 886-9000 or e-mailjhartman@wwcs.org.

Will the stones cry out?

He replied, I tell you that if these keep silent, the very stones will cry out. Habukkuk 2:11 and Luke 19:40

Samson Makhado, director of Christian schools in South Africa, recently said, “I walked into a classroom and saw there were no pencils or pens. Instead, each child had a carefully guarded piece of lead with which to do assignments. I wanted to weep.” Cobus, a principal in one of those schools expressed his despair saying, “I look around at the teachers and students in my school and wonder who will still be with us a year from now. AIDS is killing our children and our teachers.”

In UlaanBataar, Mongolia, the police tell us that from 500 to 1,000 children live in the sewers under the streets at any one time. Some are orphans, others are refugees from abusive and alcoholic parents, and some have been abandoned by their families because there is not enough food. During the day these children beg for money, steal food, and search garbage for bones they can use to boil into thin soup just to stay alive. At night they huddle underground close to the insulated pipes that carry hot water to apartment blocks. They do not attend school because they have no one to give them clothing or school supplies. That is especially sad because school would not only provide education but give them one meal a day.

In Bangladesh, only 32% of the population over age 7 can read and write. Because their families live in poverty, children are needed to work in garment factories, as brick breakers, as rickshaw pullers or in other hazardous work. Schooling is the way out of this poverty, but if these children are to attend schools their families must have food.

We are filled with delight when our own children and grandchildren happily tell us what they are learning in their Christian school about living for justice and caring for others. At the same time, children in many countries throughout the world live in poverty and degradation that is unimaginable to us, scarcely able to stay alive, much less attend school. If Christians do not step forward and help these children will the very stones cry out?

They Must be Angels!

“Ah! Look how tall they are! See how they laugh? They must be angels!” We were in the market in Santo Domingo, a large city in the Dominican Republic. The speaker, a woman who had her own stall in the market, and I were watching two tall Dutch-Canadian brothers bargaining with another shop owner.

“They are looking at jewelry for women. Who do you think they are buying it for?” asked another woman.

“Perhaps for their wives back in Canada,” was my reply.

“Ah, lucky wives!” And all the women standing around smiled their agreement.

The group of men shopping in the market that day, all from Ontario, were part of Worldwide Christian Schools’ HANDS (Help Another Nation Develop Schools) Program. They had traveled to the DR to repair roofs and build additions to schools that are part of COCREF, an organization of 21 Christian schools for 4500 children in the poorest regions of the country. Not only had the men paid for the expenses of their trip and their housing, they also provided the building materials needed for their work. The truth is that I hardly recognized the men because when I had met them at their work they were so covered with the dust that clung to their perspiring faces.

Worldwide Christian Schools (WCS) is an organization that promotes and provides Christian education in over 45 countries, always in poverty-stricken areas. The office of WCS (www.wwcs.org) is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Scott Vanderkooy is the Executive Director. WCS also has an office in Ontario, recently opened an office in Bangalore, India.

Why Christian schools? Because Christian education is education that helps children understand that God is the Creator of every single aspect of our world and therefore is in every single subject that they study. Many of the children who attend schools supported by WCS have parents who are not Christians but who want good education for their children. At other times these are the only schools available to the families.